A Christmas Beat
Desiryn Gonzalez
Fundraiser Director
Tradition is the way in which cultures express their values and customs in celebrating together with loved ones. Many families’ traditions
usually include story telling. There are many holiday stories; yet in our culture, Christmas ones seem
to be the ones most commonly told. Some of these
embraced Christmas stories include: A Christmas Carol, The Story of Santa Claus, A Christmas Story, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
A Christmas Carol
In the eighteenth century Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. The story was written during a time when Christmas tradition was
being forgotten and changing. The tale begins on
Christmas Eve seven years after the death of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s business partner Jacob Marley.
Scrooge is a greedy and stingy businessman who
has no place in his life for kindness, compassion,
or charity. After being warned by Marley’s ghost to
change his ways, Scrooge is visited by three other
ghosts who show him different scenes of his life.
The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to the scenes of his boyhood
and youth. These scenes cause Scrooge to discover
his gentle and tender side by reminding him of a time
when he was more innocent. The second spirit, the
Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to several
scenes. They see places such as a joy-filled market
of people purchasing food for Christmas dinner, the
family feast of Scrooge’s poor clerk Bob Cratchit, a
miner’scottage, and a lighthouse among other sites.
These places were all shown to Scrooge in order to
inflict a sense of responsibility on him. The third
spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows

the third century. His parents died when
he was young, so he used all of his inheritance money to give to the needy and the
sick. He dedicated his life to serving others and he became the Bishop of Myra.
Under Diocletian, the Roman Emperor at
the time, Bishop Nicholas was imprisoned
for his faith. He died December 6th. This
day came to be known as St. Nicholas Day.
Many stories and legends continue to
be told about the deeds done by St. Nicholas. Amongst many of the stories told, one is
about a poor man with three daughters. In the
days of the third century, a young woman’s
father had to offer something of value to a
man so that the young man would marry his
daughter. A better gift would give the woman
a better chance of finding a good husband.
Without a gift, a woman was unlikely to marry. Unfortunately, this poor man’s daughters
were going to be sold into slavery because
he had no gifts to offer. Mysteriously a bag
of gold appeared in their home at three different times. The gold provided what they
needed for offerings to their future husbands.
The bags of gold, tossed through an open
window, are said to have landed in stockings
or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led
to the custom of children hanging stockings
or putting out shoes so that Saint Nicholas
would place gifts in them. This is why we
think of Santa Claus as a gift-giver. “Santa”
means “Saint” and “Claus” means “Nicholas”, thus us referring to him as Santa Claus

-The Flashlight

Scrooge the visions of the future so he
learns and acts upon what he has witnessed. Scrooge’s own grave is revealed as neglected and untended to.
Finally, Scrooge wakes up Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart,
and then he spends the day with his nephew’s family. He also, anonymously sends a
prize turkey to the Crachit home for Christmas dinner. Scrooge became a different
man overnight. He then treats his fellow
men with kindness, generosity, and compassion. In the end he gained a reputation
as a man who embodies Christmas spirit.
The Story of Santa Claus
Ever wonder who the jolly old man,
Santa Claus, is and how he came about? Well,
this is one interpreted story of Old Saint Nick.
Once upon a time, a man named
Nicholas lived in the village of Patara during

See Stories Page 6.

From the Editors Desk
One year ago, December 14 2009, The
Flashlight was resurrected and released to the public. Many controversial discussions about The
Flashlight’s first issue were heard all throughout the
school. Criticized for bad grammar, wrong sentence
structures, and ect, The Flashlight had nonetheless
reborn with a bang. Now one year later, The Flashlight has grown and evolved, becoming apart of Salinas High School and making staff and students eager
to read a fresh new copy. Well celebrate The Flashlight’s one year achievement in this months issue.
I have seen The Flashlight become a great
successor to its previous year. The Flashlight (as
a whole) has grown so much, from a small 8 staff
member club to a full 20 staff member class. Over the
year, The Flashlight has been know to be “scandalous” and has given the staff and students something
to talk about amongst the halls. Whether the discussions are positive or negative toward your newspaper,
The Flashlight has remained optimistic. The Flashlight accepts criticism and we look forward to hearing

Features
Page 2:
Dinner Tables
Around the World
Season of Woe

Features
Page 3:

Community Watch

from all of you. We look to improve your newspaper with every issue we release. With that, The
Flashlight has changed drastically to please the audiences that admire The Flashlight. We now use a
three draft editing process along with a new program to create our layout. Every day we learn new
things and improve not only your paper but our
skills as journalist.
The “New” Flashlight, now one year old
has always been my first priority, and though we
may have had some bad mistakes, the staff and I
have always given our best. I am happy to be apart
of The Flashlight and have been for one year now.
I hope that you (the audience) are grateful to have
this wonderful establishment we have here at Salinas High School. The Flashlight will always be
around for the years to come, all that matters is how
you treat it.
‘Till Next time
Joseph Caballero, Editor-in-Chief

Table of Contents
Features
Page 4:

Controversial Corner: Once Upon A Holiday
Affirmative Action
You Just Got Hustled!
Opinion Column:
Carbon Copies:
Winter Break
Not Cool

To all the students that were interested in participating in the Pizza Factory
Winter Whiteout Blacklight Dance, we
have some unfortunate news. Last Wednesday night outside the restaurant during Salsa Night (held by Pizza Factory) a couple
of culprits decided to hold up a customer
and robbed him of his belongings. An employee of Pizza Factory saw this after he
left his shift and flashed his car lights at
the criminals, as soon as they noticed they
were being watched they ran from the crime
scene. Ernie, the restaurant owner, stated
that the Blacklight dance would have to be
canceled due to the risk of a crime happening again. The suspects are still unknown
but a full investigation is in progress. As
of that day any type of event being held
after work hours will be canceled until
further notice. The Flashlight and Pizza
Factory would like to apologize for any
inconvenience this may have caused you.

Features
Page 6:

Sports
Page 7:

Continued
New Season: New Sport
Controversial Corner
Winter Sports Schedule
Continued Opinion
Page 8:
Continued
The American
A Christmas Beat
Nightmare

The Flashlight Staff would like to thank Ms. Gannon for allowing us to use her room for our layout.

The Flashlight

December 2010

Page 2

Features
Dinner Tables Around The World
Sonia Lopez
Sports Editor
Mistletoe, presents, family and the smell
of pine, that’s when you know it’s Christmas time.
Most people know the traditional American holiday
customs even if you’re not American. Christmas is a
popular holiday because of the gifts, family quality
time and of course, holiday food. Thanks to the media and other influences, we all know turkey, beef or
ham have been the customary main course for hundreds of years and more to come. The side dishes
everyone is used to include vegetables and mashed
potatoes along with biscuits. The most common dessert are pies; whether it is apple, pumpkin or pecan,
they are a holiday favorite. Cookies and fruitcakes
are also frequently found on dinner tables during
the holidays. This is Christmas dinner in America.
Although a great amount of our school’s
population consists of Hispanic people, some people
may not know that pozole, mole (mole-eh) and tamales are the main course dishes served on Christmas Eve (Noche Buena). They may not even know
what these dishes are. Pozole is pork or beef and
hominy in red chile sauce and is often topped with
cabbage, onion and lemon juice. Mole is made in
different ways and varies on the different regions of
Mexico. Some mole sauce is sweet and made with
chocolate, and some is made spicy. This sauce is
usually served with chicken and rice. Tamales are
small amounts of beef, pork, or chicken with red or
green chile sauce wrapped in thick layers of dough
cooked in corn leaves. A Mexican Christmas dinner
ends with atole (ah-tol-eh), a thinned hot pudding,
buñuelos (boon-oo-eh-los), fried flour tortillas covered in thick syrup, and sweet tamales, corn dough
with raisins or other fruits. Cakes are also a part
of the dessert menu just as in many other cultures.
In the Philippine culture, a buffet style meal is accustomed. In this buffet lumpia (loom-pee-ah), similar
to the egg roll, lechon (lech-oh-n), a whole suckling ro

A Philippine suckling pig (Lechon).

asted pig, ukoy (oo-koy), shrimp snacks, pancit (pah-nsi-t),noodles, arroz caldo (ah-rr-ohz cah-ldo), chicken and rice soup, and chicken
adobo (ah-doh-bo), seasoned chicken served
with rice, just to mention a few, are commonly
found. For the sweet course of the meal, cassava cake (cas-ah-va), made of cassava root,
and biko (bee-coh), rice cake with cinnamon
topping, are a few examples of what might
be on the dinner table after the main course.
Somewhere a little less common
would be Australia. In Australia, it is summer
during Christmas and although it is tradition
to have a roasted turkey and a formal dinner,
it is not bizarre to celebrate Christmas on the
beach or at the park barbequing burgers, hot
dogs or pork. Sea food such as prawns and lobsters are also common holiday dishes. Here it
does not have to be a Christmas dinner; it can
be a Christmas lunch. Anything goes in Australia. Disregarding the dishes and customs,
we can greatly relate to their desserts since
they celebrate with pies, pudding and cakes.
Unlike the informal customs of the
Australians, the Scottish have a formal dinner.
On a Scottish dinner table you can find turkey,
roast goose, smoked salmon, roasted potatoes
and stuffing made of bacon rolls and chipolata

sausage served with gravy, bread sauce and
cranberry jelly. It is also very common to have
Christmas crackers at dinner and during tea
time. After dinner they continue with pudding
andYule Log which is delicious chocolate cake.
The Polish have a different view
of Christmas dinner. Barszcz (bah-rr-shch), a clear beetroot soup, or bigos (beeko-s), hunter’s stew, is served as the main
dish. Bigos contains many spices and meats
such as smoked pork, bacon and pork ribs.
Uszka (uh-sh-kah), dumplings filled with
mushrooms or minced meat, are served as
a side dish. Uszka is not only a food but
also the meaning for “little ears”. After dinner piernik (pee-eh-rr-neek), honey cake
with a chocolate glaze, and cwlbak (ts-vlbahk), fruit cake, are the preferred desserts.
Many places around the world share
similar foods and customs. Who would have
thought Americans and the Polish both enjoy fruitcake after the main course? In the
end no matter what the culture or customs,
everyone enjoys spending time eating with
their loved ones. From main course to dessert, have fun with friends and family. You
never know what’s cooking up in your
neighbor’s house. Try some new foods
and relish your favorites. Happy holidays!

A Polish style soup (Barszcz).

Season of Woe

Dominique Perez
Entertainment Editor
It’s the ‘typical’ holiday attitude to be merry, but for some, it seems that not even the festive
decorations, stories, music and the weather can keep
the depression away, whether it be from seasonal
affective disorder (S.A.D) or the “Holiday Blues.”

Seasonal affective disorder is a condition where your mood changes with the
seasons/weather. Half a million people who
are diagnosed go into a stage of winter depression due to the lack of available sunlight.
It occurs mainly during the winter season
but it also proceeds during the year when
the skies are overcast, and if indoor lighting has been diminished. With some signs
of daytime fatigue, anxiety and weight gain,
many find themselves in search of treatment.
Light therapy, the exposure to high intensity
light, is thought to be the most effective remedy. It mimics the sunlight and alters brain
chemicals to ease the symptoms. However,
if ignored, S.A.D can progress into other serious issues like substance abuse or suicide.
Unlike S.A.D, the holiday blues are
short-termed and occur because of the festive
atmosphere. “Even though there’s all these
celebrations going on, you’re being haunted
by this feeling of ‘I’m supposed to be happy’ but you’re not,” explained Erick Munoz (11’) who has previously dealt with the
distress, “Its mostly a feeling of emptiness,

like feeling left out.” Any stress, unrealistic
expectations, or the inability to be with family due to finances or divorce reasons can be
the cause of such emotions. Although these
feelings diminish after the season is over,
they still hold the same symptoms as clinical depression; inability to think clearly, decreased enjoyment in activities and a change
in appetite and sleep. Erik explained that
he’s resolved these issues by, “not thinking
too much about what’s going on and by just
being hyped on being alive.” The Medical
Center of Maryland states the “do’s” and
“don’ts” of how to manage the holiday blues
with statements like, “don’t focus on what
you don’t have, don’t dwell on the past”
and “do something for someone else, and
create new or different ways to celebrate.”
Whether it be seasonal or long term
depression, it should never be ignored. If
you are dealing with any of these issues
talk to someone you trust to seek help. Try
to make the best out of this time of year
and remember without going through pain,
we cannot cherish how great happiness is.

Features
Maciel and Horner in the Controversial Corner
Affirmative Acton

Brittney Horner
Features Editor
Affirmative action affects every student at Salinas High. Whether a person is
Caucasian or Asian, female or male, a senior
or a freshman, religious or agnostic, from an
affluent family or a poor background, affirmative action affects his or her future success
in the United States, particularly California.
In an attempt to counteract a history of discrimination, the government has attempted
to promote equality by giving special treatment to minorities when it comes to receiving jobs and college admission. However,
rather than leveling the playing ground, affirmative action results in a different group
receiving the advantage. This socialistic
system does not stimulate growth. In fact,
it is hardship—inequality—that pushes man
to work hard, overcome the odds, and ultimately standout as a strong individual.
A major flaw of the system is that
even after the initial discrimination has been
eliminated, affirmative action is not easy to
end. The CSU system is a perfect example:
“underrepresented minorities” (previously
Hispanics) still receive priority in registration
despite the fact that they now outnumber the
Caucasians; at CSU Long Beach, for example, almost 40% of the undergraduate population is Hispanic whereas only about 20% is
Caucasian. At many California colleges, this
unrelenting affirmative action leads to reverse

discrimination, which is when minorities receive an advantage. “Affirmative action was
never meant to be permanent” contends Susan Estrich, a professor of law at the University of Southern California who frequently
appears on Fox News. Her opinion was exemplified back in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger
which involved the admissions process at the
University of Michigan. The case implied
that affirmative action should not be allowed
to continue and that the university should at
some point implement a colorblind policy
in admissions. Another important case in
which the policy of affirmative action was
questioned was in University of California
v. Bakke. Bakke applied to Davis but was
refused twice (despite his high academic performance) simply because Davis was trying
to meet its quota of minority representation.
America holds the belief that to discriminate
by race is wrong, yet that is exactly what the
University had done to Bakke. As John Ko
(’11) states it, “Affirmative action is ‘justified’ racism against the majority.” An example of the unfairness of the situation is when
it comes to the top students in the graduating
class. Paulina Hlavacek (’11) discusses the
co-valedictorians Erin Gray (’11) and Kane
Palacios (’11). She says, “Although they are
both academically outstanding . . . Kane has
a better chance of being admitted to the Ivies
because he is a male and of Mexican descent.”
Not only are majority groups discrimminated against, it is condescending to
minorities to say they need affirmative action to succeed. Alan Keyes, a presidential
nominee in the 2008 election, claims, “Affirmative action patronizes American black,
women, and others by presuming that they
cannot succeed on their own . . .[it] does not
advance civil rights in this country.” True
achievement should not result from a handout; it should result from persistence and skill.

Ricky Maciel
Features Editor
Whether most would like to admit
it or not, the fact remains that the American
lifestyle has always been tougher for people
with minority status – this historical fact
goes all the way back to the early founding
of America. Since the first non-English immigrants came over looking for a place to
start a new life, Americans have relegated
these minorities to the bottom rungs of society and left them to toil, all while basking
in the profitable glory of cheap labor. It was
deemed okay to exploit the minorities this
way back then – at least, by the standards
of those in charge. Times changed, though,
and with the coming of the civil rights
movements came a controversial new idea.
Affirmative action was brought about
by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. It
is essentially a way to reverse the past oppression of minority groups by offering academic and employment opportunities that
would otherwise be out of reach for them,
and to encourage them to perform better
so that they too can have important roles
in society. This system empowers students
from underprivileged backgrounds to succeed against the odds they face, and in effect levels the playing field. It eliminates
white dominance of school populations
See RCC Page 6

See BCC Page 6

OPINION COLUMN: Carbon Copies: Not Cool
Lupita Uribe
Associate Editor
Why fit in when you can stand out? In high
school, there are many little cliques and trends that
teens want to be a part of, and they feel like they
need to change who they are to be ‘cool’, but that
is not always true. This isn’t written to preach, but
people have to learn to be okay with who they are
and not feel like they need to be just like anyone else.
Through my past three years at Salinas High, I have
noticed that a lot of people are willing to compromise
who they are just for a little popularity. It should not
be that way. People need to stand up for what they
believe in a lot more. Next time you hear some one
make a rude co mment, don’t just laugh and try to fit
in; correct them and let them know that what
Sports Editors

Sonia Lopez, Zachary Teeter
Entertainment Editor

The Flashlight
Editor-In-Chief

Dominique Perez

Joseph Caballero

Photography Editor

Associate Editors

Carolanne Garibay

Brian Horne, Kaitlin Sandoval, Lupita Uribe

Copy-write Editors

Features Editors

David Saucedo, Krystin Marks

Brittney Horner, Ricky Maciel

Online Editor

Advisor

Michael Liu

Miriam Olivares

they’re saying is not right. If everyone takes the risk of being an individual,
then maybe Salinas High would be a better place (than it already is of course).
Though some people go a little overboard and try too hard to be different, being
an individual is not always a bad thing. One
of the coolest things anybody can do is be
themselves. If you go to an interview, the
employer will look for the person who stands
out most, not just in skills, but with their attitude as well. Yes, in high school it is a bit
intimidating to be the person that stands out,
See Opinion Page 6

Business Manager

Miguel Jimenez
Fundraising Director

Desiryn Gonzalez
Advertisement Director

Jaime Guzman
Historian

Michael Galmes
Staff Reporters

Ilsa Petersen, Lexi Swanston,
Kyle Tankesley

The Flashlight

Page 4

December 2010

Features
ONCE UPON A HOLIDAY
Kaitlin Sandoval
Associate Editor
Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Rudolph and
presents, we see these figurines portrayed in stores,
buildings, movies, shows, streets, and about everywhere during December, and even before then. Some
people recognize Christmas like a kid recognizes a
McDonald’s happy meal. It is almost subconscious,
but there are many other celebrated holidays other
then Christmas that fall in the winter season. When
asked students about different celebrated holidays,
one student replied that the holiday Kwanzaa (an African heritage holiday) was a Jewish celebration. In
the United States, it seems odd with all of the diversity;
people are still in the dark about the different holidays.
POSADAS [Poh-Sah-Duhs], is a traditional
Mexican celebration that consists of family, neighbors, and friends getting together to re-enact Joseph’s
[Jesus’s father] search for a room at an inn. A family from the neighborhood will offer a night at their
home for Posada where people carry candles and
statues of Joseph and his donkey to the house, when
there they say prayers and have a fiesta with piñatas
and a feast. This celebration continues for eight days
starting on December 16th through the 24th and taking place in different families homes. Miriam Medrano (’11) celebrated Posadas in her past in Mexico. She says the best thing about Posadas was the
food such as tamales, pan dulce, and champurrado.

KWANZAA [Kwahn-Zuh], celebrates African culture, the values of family,
and humanism. It is a seven-day holiday
that begins on December 26th and ends on
January 1st. During these seven days, seven
principles are discussed for each day. The
seven principles discussed are unity, self- determination, collective work and responsibility, collective economics, purpose, creativity,
and faith. After each principle is discussed a
candle gets lit in a kinara, where assemblies
of symbols are arranged on a table such as
the African flag. On the sixth day of Kwanzaa a feast is held for family and friends and
on the following day presents are given.
CHANUKKAH
[Hah-Nuh-Kuh],
also known as The Festival of Lights, is a
Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days which
starts on the 25th day of the Jewish month of
Kislev. Chanukkah is celebrated because of
the miracle of the oil burning in a menorah at
the temple for a continual eight days, when
it was only suppose to burn for one night.
During the eight-day celebration, families
get together every evening to light a candle
in a menorah. The menorah is a candleholder
that holds nine candles, four on each side of
a shamus [the middle candle] that is used to
light the candles every night starting from the
right. When the candle is lit blessings are

recited in Hebrew, and gifts are attributed
which sometimes lasts for all eight days
or for only one. A traditional game that is
played can be dreidel, which is a spinning
top with Hebrew words written on its side
where people play for coins or chocolate.
RAMADAN [Ram-Uh-Dahn], is a
Muslim holiday that lasts for an entire month.
During this month, it is a time for spiritual
purification, self-sacrifice, prayer, and fasting. Adults and adolescence fast from sun
up to sun down every day until the month
is over. This means they have to wake up
early in the morning to eat a well breakfast
to get them through the day which is called
a sahur, and when the sun goes down, family will get together for prayer and eat a
delicious meal called the iftar. Ramadan
ends with a three-day festival called Eid ulFihr, which means the feast of the breaking, to break the fast. The month long fasting brings them to a higher spiritual state.
Even though there are many different
holidays, one thing has always stayed the same,
celebrating these holidays with loved ones
such as family and friends. Enjoy the holidays.

“...like a kid recognizes a
McDonald’s happy meal.”

You Just Got Hustled!

Krystin Marks
Copy-write Editor
The most famous sign during the holidays is
“ON SALE NOW”, especially during the Christmas
season. Parents and many people are running around
trying to find the perfect gift to give. The best bonus is
when they find that item you have wanted for awhile
with that “ON SALE NOW” sign attached to it. What
they think to be a good deal, is actually no deal at all.
During
the
holidays,
stores
raise
the prices of all the popular gift choices.

That’s when they put it “on sale”, making it the exact same price it was in the beginning or more. Stores make you believe
you just saved a lot on money but, in reality, you just got hustled, played, and taken
for a sucker. An anonymous source was
asked what their best deal was this season
and they replied, “I just bought a Toshiba
high-def laptop for $349.99. I really saved
saved some money, because it originally cost
$399.99.” What they didn’t know was that
just a month prior to the sale, that laptop’s
actual price was really $299.99. Wow! That
is some savings. Did you just get hustled?
Then there are also those false advertisements in the newspaper. Grocery
stores have ads saying free turkey with every purchase. Many people don’t read the
fine print, which states your purchase has
to be more than $100. So, you go in there
buying a few things you don’t even want,

Winter Break
Lexi Swanston
Staff Reporter
Winter break, an escape from reality for three
whole glorious freedom filled weeks. School, teachers or homework, words that never once cross our
minds while daydreaming in class of what adventurous memories we want to make, over the next 21
days. Whether you’re planning to see the world, score
time with friends or simply sleep in; winter break is
clearly in our youthful eyes. Erik Munoz (‘11) has already planned his three weeks saying, “I’m going on
tour from San Francisco to San Diego with my band,
‘The people’. Hours in a van full of equipment, our
talent and four Mexicans. It’s going to be gnarly.”
This is the time where everyone grows up. People
change, lives change and the outlook on life expands. Pause it and enjoy every second of this
break, whether it’s your first year or your last.
Bring out the bucket list, call up old friends, and

spend time with the family. CJ Ulrich
(’11) knows exactly what he’s doing for
winter break, “Snowboarding in Dodge
Ridge with my family and friends. I’ve
been waiting all year for this, I can’t wait.”
Create some amazing stories this
month whether your pwning at the new Call
of Duty, traveling the world, or uploading
crazy pictures of that party the other night
to your Facebook…the one’s your friends
are going to kill you over. Life is being
written as we speak; make sure its something we want to read this winter break.

“I’m going on tour from
San Francisco to San
Diego with my band...”

just for a big bird you’ll never get. Shoe
stores have “buy one get one half off sales”.
Catchy as it is, one pair is always more than
the other. Did you ever notice why you pay
full price for the more expensive pair and
half off one is the cheaper pair to begin
with? Of course not, you were too busying
thinking about what a great sale it was. Then
there are those famous “going out of business sales”. Loads of people go rushing in
there buying stuff just because that store will
never be there again. It’s pretty convenient
how a month or more after, that store is still
there and that “going out of business” sign
just magically disappears. Well guess what,
in all of these incidents you just got hustled!
This is happening more and more
every year. Those stores are trying to
squeeze every cent out of your pockets.
My advice is, shop with awareness next
time. Other wise you will get hustled!

The Flashlight

December 2010

Page 5

Arts & Entertainment
Fashion Phases:
Pea Coats

Band Spotlight: The people

Micheal Galmes
Historian

The band plays all original songs
that according to drummer, Erik, per
tain to “what troubles the female kind.”The band
“The people” are a pop punk band from feels their writing style is most clearly evident in
Salinas, California that was formed in early 2010. their song, “No More No Less” with lyrics
Their current lineup consists of guitarist/vocalists such as: “I’ll take your last breath and breathe
Sean Schively and David Molina, Drummer Erik it for you; I’ll take away your little fears and
Munoz (‘11), and bassist Ramon Montes. “The peo- fear them for you”. Currently the band plans
ple” are heavily influenced by artists such as, “The to embark on a Californian tour that kicks off
Beatles”, “The Rolling Stones”, “Bob Dylan”, and in San Francisco 17th, and ends in San Di“The Strokes”. Overall, the band has an energetic, ego on January 5th. They are also hoping to
upbeat sound that clearly resembles 1960’s pop. be scheduling local dates for February 2011.

Carolanne Garibay
Photography Editor
As winter approaches, students of
Salinas High are beginning to layer clothing
to keep warm and pea coats have been popular choice among our boy and girl cowboys.
While you may be thinking pea coats are a
warm way to look classy and stylish, did you
also know that these coats were beneficial and
sometimes even unifying throughout history?
Pea coats originated during the 18th
century and were first worn by European
navies. Now days these fashionable coats
are worn not only to keep us warm, but for
style as well. According to ehow.com, “the
word “pea” comes from the Dutch term ‘pij,’
which was the name of the cloth used to make
the coat.” Pea coats were originally made of
thick and heavy material known as pilot cloth,
(p-cloth) which later became p- coats, which
kept the soldiers warm in harsh weather.
Ranging in style, “the original pea
coat was made from thirty ounce wool.”
This wool was made to be durable for heavy
rain and extreme weather. The pea coat also
came in one color, which was dark navy
blue. It was designed to keep every part of
the body from the neck to the waist warm,
and had decorative buttons (about eight)
along the torso. The buttons were usually
of wood or brass and often had a symbol
such as an anchor crested in it. Changes,
including fabric and color, had to be made
to make more practical for every day use.
Through out the hallways of Salinas High, and as the weather gets colder
and colder each day, the students are beginning to layer. These coats remain a
popular choice because they fit in almost
any setting whether it be casual or formal.

The Hot Spot This Winter
(no pun intended)
Sharks Ice at San Jose
1500 S 10th St, San Jose, CA 95112
If you like having fun at “cool” places, then this is just for you. Every sporting activity related to ice
is featured here. They provide skating lessons, figure skating of all types (viz. free style, ice dancing,
synchronized teams etc.) and ice hockey. Sharks Ice also plays host for different events like parties,
birthdays etc. Check out this URL to view their schedule and pricing for winter recreation ice skating:
http://www.sharksiceatsanjose.com/assets/public_skating/SharksIce2010HolidayIceSchedule.pdf

The Flashlight welcomes your talent, feel free to stop by room 704 and drop off your own comic, art, cartoon, poem,
etc. We also accept them digitally throught facebook at Facebook.com/TheFlashlight or email us at SHSTheFlashlight@
gmail.com. Please submit your work in pen.We look forward to seeing what the school campus provides to The Flashlight.

December 2010

The Flashlight

Page 6

Features
BCC
Continued from page 3
Besides its effect on middle-class
Americans who are neither poor enough to
receive aid nor rich enough to pay their own
way, affirmative action is not necessarily the
best way to help people at a disadvantage.
Students admitted on this basis are often unprepared to compete at the rigorous schools
to which they were admitted. Newsweek
admits that “As the minority population in
the U.S grows, low college graduation rates
become a threat to the nation’s prosperity .
. .” Minorities may be entering college at a
greater rate than ever, but their graduation
rates are a sad tale. Simply eliminating the
competition does not guarantee minority success; in fact it may set them up for failure.
Allocating special treatment results
in a lack of need for Americans to push themselves. Rather than allowing the U.S. to fall
to a system of government handouts, Americans must provide jobs, college entrance,
and government assistance (social and financial) on the basis of merit, not on the basis of situations beyond a person’s control
such as skin color and family background.

RCC
Continued from page 3
and ensures that there cannot be any
white favoritism in the student selection process – which was the norm before the civil
rights movements. It is not, however, a crutch.
By implementing affirmative action, minority candidates such as women or colored
races can have their socioeconomic disparities put aside and be boosted up to be compared equally against, say, a rich white male.
How is a system that creates a situation where people from two different races
can be compared equally unfair in any way?
Short answer: it isn’t. In fact, by broadening
the selection range, companies and schools
are benefitting everyone. A diverse background helps to create a well-rounded person, while surrounding somebody by the
same type of people all of his/her life can
leave the person tunnel-minded. To create
more cultured environments, schools desire
a minimum percentage of each racial group
within their campuses, and a balanced mix
is doubtful to happen purely on its own. The
admittance process must be manipulated to a
certain degree to achieve this desired diversity, and that is the sole role of affirmative
action. If not used effectively, a single race
could take up the majority of the student body.

A close example of this happening would be
UC Berkeley. During the 1999-2000 school
year, the Asian population comprised 45.2%
(www.goldsea.com) of the entire student
body. A single ethnicity almost dominated
the school’s population, and this can be attributed to the fact that Berkeley, being a
public school, can’t be very picky about who
it admits. The supermajority wouldn’t exist if there were some sort of filter, and the
university would be more open to different
types of cultures. This, however, is not the
case, because ever since the Bakke ruling
against UC Davis, people cry foul over affirmative action in any UC. Aside from diversifying the school/workplace settings,
affirmative action serves to compensate
minorities for literally hundreds of years
of oppression, slavery, and generally unfair
treatment (although in plenty of cases, “generally unfair” can be a huge understatement).
Affirmative action can be viewed as a charity
service for the peoples that America left at the
bottom of society for so long, and now wishes to fully integrate into society. America was
founded on principles of racial equality, and
after over two centuries of cruel mistreatment
to those with “lesser” status, affirmative action
is a way to redeem our founding principles
and compensate for countless injustices perpetrated on an innumerable amount of people.

but once you’re gone and out of high school,
people that were not afraid to be unique,
or weird, will be the ones that are remembered. The rest will just blend into the general stereotype of your old graduating class.
I have spoken to several graduates from
Salinas High, and most tell me that they wish
they had gone a little crazier in high school
and had not cared so much about what others
thought of them. “People become so obsessed
over trying to be popular, that they forget who
they really are and become someone they truly
aren’t,” says Summer Schultz (’10), a recent
graduate. Although being a unique character
exceeds the importance of your fashion choices, having your own fashion makes standing out
so much better. Don’t get me wrong, following
some trends is okay, but only if you’re truly intrigued by them, otherwise it is as if you’re becoming a carbon-copy of someone elseThere
is a difference between being the ugly duckling that becomes a beautiful swan, and the girl
with natural beauty that cakes on her make up
to look like a ‘cookie cutter teen queen’. Girls,
you shouldn’t feel like you have to be someone
that looks perfect or straight of the magazine;
boys like you a lot more when you are yourself
and you let your natural radiance shine. Boys,
believe it or not, most girls are more attracted to your personality than the kind of pants
you wear, or how low you sag them. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean
it is a good thing (i.e. promiscuity). Fitting
in is not as fun as standing out. “Be the first
of yourself, not the clone of someone else.”

A Christmas Story
The Bible tells of how Christmas night
came about. According to the Bible, Christmas is the night that Jesus was born. A couple,
by the names of Joseph and Mary traveled on
a long journey to Bethlehem. Mary bore a
child whose name would be Jesus. There was
no room for the traveling couple at any of the
inns in Bethlehem. With no other options, the
couple found a stable where the baby would
be born. In the same country were shepherds
watching over a flock. An angel of the Lord
appeared to those shepherds and told them not
to be afraid and that that night Christ the Lord
was born and could be found wrapped up in
a manger. The shepherds spread word about
their experience. A few days later the Magi
(or the three wise men) followed the star to
where Jesus had been born. They went bearing gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold.
According to this story in the Bible, it is believed that the child, Jesus, born this day is the
Son of God and savior. An image of what this
night appeared as can be displayed through
the nativity scene. The nativity scene usually
includes the shepherds, the Magi, and sometimes the animals. “Christ’s Mass” means
“The Lord’s Supper”, which was considered to be the most important part of Christ’s
birth; therefore came the name “Christmas”.

Kennedy Gordon (‘14)
“A pair of wool socks.”
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is
a children’s story by Dr. Suess. It was written with a rhyming scheme. It was published as a book by Random House in 1957.
The Grinch is a fictional, green, catlike creature with a heart “two sizes too small.” He
lives in a cave on snowy Mount Crumpit just
north of Whoville, home of the merry and
warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is
his faithful dog, Max. From his cave high at
the peak of Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can
hear the noisy Who’s preparing for Christmas
and all the festivities. The Grinch becomes
envious of the Who’s happiness. He makes
plans to go into the town and deprive them of
Christmas. The Grinch then steals presents,
holiday ham and decorations from all the
homes of the Whos. However, in the end he
discovers that despite his success in stealing all
the Christmas presents and decorations from
the Whos, they still continue in the festivities
in the same manner as they normally would.
He realizes that Christmas is more than just
gifts and presents. His heart then grows three
sizes larger. He returns all the presents and
trimmings. As a result, the Grinch is warmly
welcomed into the community of the Whos.
Tradition is what brings together people and communities.Stories continue to be passed on throughout generations as a part of traditon. Happy
Holidays and remember to show the spirit!

“He makes plans to go into the
town and deprive them of Christmas.”

The Flashlight

Page 7

December 2010

Sports
New Season: New Sports
Sonia Lopez
Sports Editor
Goodbye football season and hello basketball
season. Fall is over and winter sports have begun.
Back in mid-November the agitation about upcoming
try-outs was felt amongst friends on campus. Toward
the end of November all teams were set and ready to
practice for their pre-season games and tournaments.
Unsure of what the winter sports are? Well,
they are boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, and
boys’ and girls’ soccer. The most popular winter
sport on campus is basketball. Boys and girls basketball have great coaches and have put together
teams that are sure to bring home Wins. Frankie Rogers (’11) explains, “Our team is looking good this
year. We’re taking it one step at a time and hoping
for the best.” Let’s support our cowboys, along with
the cheerleaders, in hopes of achieving their goals.

Although it is uncommon to see many
Salinas High students supporting the soccer teams, it is the most popular sport in the
world. Soccer is a fast-paced game full of
intensity, contact and excitement. Both boys
and girls did great last year and are optimistic
for this season. Brianna Pacis(’11) says, ”This
season we are still a great team like last year,
even though we lost a couple of players that
graduated, but I’m really excited for this year,
which is my last, but I know we are going to
have fun, play hard, and win.” It would be
great to see more cowboys get out and encourage our teams to accomplish an exceptionally
successful season for both boys and girls.
Last but not least, we have wrestling. Some students are surprised to find
we have female wrestlers. Wrestling is not
just a “boy sport”. Both boys and girls work

hard, practice and diet to win their match.
The team is well on its way. “There are
lots of new freshmen, but enough veterans
for the varsity team to do good this year. I
have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of
wrestlers going to CCS,” says Isaac Hernandez (’12). Good luck wrestlers and hopefully there will be more supporters this year.
All of our teams have set high goals.
They have been, and will continue to work
hard throughout the season in order to undertake their aspirations for this season. There’s
nothing a team loves more than a roaring
crowd, other than the sport itself of course.
This is the season to show your purple pride
and support each of our teams in their fight
for victory. Good luck, and go cowboys!

Airsoft and Paintball Community Club
is looking for members!
The APCC is a club for those who play
airsoft and paintball and creates a
way for players to come together and
organize games and trips to major
events
Contact either Tyler Dunn or James
Frye if you are interested in signing up

The Flashlight

December 2010

Page 8

Features
The American Nightmare
Jaime Guzman & Michael Liu
Advertisement Director & Online Editor
America is renowned as a land of opportunity. High school students see the future ahead
with optimism and confidence, some with a fullset determination for achieving a dream life while
others drift forward hoping for the sort of comfortable living they have gotten used to. However, exactly how can our generation achieve the
dreams of success we have come to expect in society? What goals should we really be focusing on?
However, the concept of the American dream is
not obtainable in this day and age and the dreams
and life we wish to accomplish may be unfulfilled.
The term “American dream” was first
coined, in 1931 by historian, James Truslow Adams, in his book, The Epic of America, saying the
American dream was “a land in which life should
be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with
opportunity for [everyone].” The traditional, accepted course of success in our modern-age society is simple: do well in high school, go to a prestigious and well-respected university and graduate,
then find a lucrative job that will begin an illustrious career. “Students wanting to keep up and have
a chance of getting into a good school have to be
‘well-rounded’ which means they have to participate
in five extracurricular activities, play a varsity sport,,
volunteer in the community regularly, get a parttime job, and on top of that maintain a GPA of 4.1 or
higher,” says Brittney Horner (’11). “As if the GPA
doesn’t speak for itself, we have to take the CSTs,
SAT, AP tests, Subject tests, the list goes on and on.”

The burden of over-achievement gives rise
to high, sometimes unrealistic, expectations
of the future. “A lot of teenagers come out
into the real world with delusions of entitlements and instant gratification,” says Ricardo Maciel II (‘12). “They don’t realize
how much competition is really out there in
the world these days.” The struggle to stay
ahead in life is also heightened with the advent of globalization. American kids, content with their already existing lifestyles,
will grow up having to live with emerging
young populations from developing countries hungry for jobs and seeking the same
ambitions as their peers in America. With a
declining economy and decreased standings
in secondary education, the rosy image of
success that’s portrayed in our country seems
to be getting harder and harder to achieve.
While there are plenty of teenagers with a vision of their future plans, there
are plenty more who don’t. “I’m pretty sure
most of the kids here don’t give a crap about
the future.” says Patrick Russo (’12). “I mean
c’mon bro we’re just stupid teenagers.” According to the Education Research Center
(EPE), the percentage of students graduating high-school in California is at 68%. The
percentage of people graduating universities
in 4 years is 57.2% while the rate at 2-year
institutions hovers at just 30.5%. “I think
students slack off for coolness. They don’t
want to be reminded of what they should
really do in school,” said Mrs. Bernasconi.

“Our society doesn’t admire intelligence much
these days and for them [students], it’s their
way of being fun and exciting.” When we look
at America, much of the debate on improving
the state of education has been focused on
spending and improving test scores. Yet while
these parts of education reform are useful, a
bigger problem lies within the actual student.
“It’s really all about personal motivation,”
says Anthony Sarmiento (’12). “If the person
doesn’t care, all the money and state-of-theart technology isn’t going to do much to help.”
Numerous books, movies and shows have the
American dream as a plot device with even
a play and a song having been named after
it. The Great Gatsby critiques the American
dream as a false hope, and in The Jungle,
a character arrives in America to achieve
the American dream but fails at achieving it as he falls victim to numerous misfortunes. In this day and age, with a higher
living standard than ever before and an indulgent culture engrained in our society, the
misfortunes of our generation has become
whether or not we are willing to shape the
future ourselves or to let the future shape us.

“They don’t realize how
much competition
is really out there in the
world these days.”